The unicorn, both in mythology and history, possesses a unique reputation as being a fearless, courageous and beautiful animal and protector of other beasts. One theory explains the origination of the unicorn as being developed by herds-keepers for protecting the herd. The single center position horn is a lethal weapon for warding off predatory animals. It is thought that the herdsmen did not wish to employ dogs or other animals as guards since they are meat eaters and expensive to keep.
Other theories attribute various magical powers to the horn of the unicorn. In any event the unicorn appears in many early drawings and then seems to have ceased to exist to the extent that for many centuries it was hard to distinguish whether or not the unicorn had actually existed or whether it was a product of man's imagination.
In January 1935 Dr. W. Franklin Dove, a biologist at the University of Maine, wrote for the Journal of Experimental Zoology, in Volume 69, Number 3, an article entitled: The Physiology of Horn Growth, in which he traced various previous efforts at developing a unicorn and documented his own efforts along those lines. Also in the Scientific Monthly dated May 1936, Volume 42; Pages 431-436, Dr. Dove wrote an article entitled: Artificial Production of the Fabulous Unicorn, in which he traced various efforts to grow unicorns. Generally speaking it is reported that all unicorns have been developed by a surgical procedure in which the horn buds of a newly-born animal are transplanted from the usual location to a central position on the front of the animal's skull. It is not generally known that during the first week of development, the horn buds are attached to the skin only and attachment to the skull begins after this period. In other words, horns are the result of separate ossifications that subsequently fuse to the frontal bones of the head rather than being outgrowths of these frontal bones or of the skull. These horn buds initially are supplied with blood through capillaries and only in subsequent stages of development does the horn develop a complex blood circulating system. Such past work has involved the transplanting of the horn buds to a position on the front of the skull or the shifting of the position of pedicled flaps containing the horn bud. Usually the procedure has been performed only upon the family Bovinae to include the five subfamilies Bovinae, Cephalophinae, Hippotraginae, Antilopinae and Caprinae, i.e. cattle, antelopes, sheep and goats.
It is the purpose of the present invention to provide an improved method of forming a unicorned animal having what is thought to be a higher mental capacity and greater physical capabilities.